Credit Card Delinquencies at Record High, Says Fitch

U.S. credit card delinquencies reached all-time highs in January on the back of ongoing deteriorating conditions in the U.S. economy, according to a study released by Fitch on Thursday.

The rate of payments missed by more than 60 days advanced 0.47 percentage points to an all-time high of 3.75% in January, according to the report.

"U.S. consumers continue to struggle in the face of mounting pressures on multiple fronts, from employment to housing to net worth," according to Michael Dean, a managing director at Fitch.

The news comes at a difficult time for the United States with the economy shedding more than half a million jobs per month, and no signs of a turnaround in the near term.

In addition, the Fed has pledged $200 billion in an initiative geared at backing holders of asset-backed securities including credit card debt, education and auto loans.

By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009